The Carolina Panthers signed kicker Graham Gano to a four-year contract on Tuesday after the former Tate High standout’s breakthrough 2017 season.

Gano, who played collegiately for Florida State, could have been Carolina’s franchise tag player with the deadline at 4 p.m. on Tuesday. He would’ve been an unrestricted free agent had he not received the tag or hadn’t come to an agreement with the Panthers.

Under the franchise tag, Gano would’ve made $4.96 million this season. For a comparable deal signed by another one of the league’s top kickers, the Tennessee Titans recently signed Ryan Succop to a five-year, $20 million contract.

After playing three seasons with the Washington Redskins, Gano joined Carolina in 2012 but hit just 30 of 38 field-goal attempts in 2016 and Carolina responded by drafting a kicker, Harrison Butker, in last year’s NFL Draft.

Gano, 30, managed to beat Butker out for the starting spot before this season and responded with a career-best year. He earned a spot in his first Pro Bowl after he led the NFL by hitting 29 of 30 field-goal attempts (96.7 percent) and also led the NFL by turning 84.8 percent of his kickoffs into touchbacks.